Skellum
Description Skellum is a Northern Hawk-Owl in the colliering chaw. The dark rim of his face and his upper breast feathers are permanently smudged with soot and he has a slightly crooked beak from carrying a live bonk coal for too long. His right eye is bloodshot and tears when the wind is northerly. Personality An owl of few words, Skellum has an acid wit and a sarcastic streak if he can be made to talk at all. Bubo, who commissions him for "special coals", does not seem to mind, but many of the younger Guardians take a long time to warm up to him. Skellum does not mind; the few friendships that he has are sufficient for him. History Skellum was rescued from a forest fire as a branchling. The search-and-rescue chaw grabbed him off a smouldering branch as he stared blankly into the flames, utterly fire-blinked. They brought him to the Great Tree to get him taken care of. Matron said the blinking would pass eventually, but through all his Guardian training, he never really came out of that state again. In his mind, fire was a monster, a roiling malevolent entity that ate his parents and siblings and would come for him as well. He often had daymares of fire destroying his tree and swallowing his family or friends. He was deeply terrified of any open flame and could hardly stand being in the vicinity of candles, let alone Bubo´s forge. It was Bubo who brought him to face his fear and conquer it. He taught him how to resist fire-blinking and how to handle live coals. Something snapped: fire´s hold on his gizzard was broken. Now he was angry, deadly angry, furious at the fire for holding him in fear for so long. He went out and faced forest fires. He pitted his skill and strength and all the knowledge he had gained from the rybs against the flames. He rode the monster, soared on the rolling thermals over the ember beds. He went through sheets of crowning fire like a bullet with his feathers hardly singed. His first bonk coal was a prize of victory for him. He clutched it far too long because he did not want to part with it, and it melted the sides of his beak. He does not mind. If he´s been marked by fire, he´s certainly put his mark on it as well. Now he flies with the colliering chaw, gathering "special" coals at Bubo´s request. He also volunteers for the "dry watch" who spend long nights abroad in the owl kingdoms, watching for budding forest fires in the dry season. Recently, he´s seeing a lot of a young Hawk-Owl named Leticia whom Bubo, with a wink, has placed under his wing - she has a bit of an unhealthy fascination with open flames, and Bubo feels that she´ll be a prime candidate for fire-blinking when faced with the real thing. In that case, he wants her to be on the team of someone who knows firsthand how to conquer that state and shake off its effects. Category:Characters Category:Fan Characters Category:Northern Hawk Owls Category:Hawk Owls Category:Guardians Category:Guardians Of Ga'hoole Category:Guardians of Ga'hoole Category:Males Category:Male Category:Colliering Chaw Category:Silverveil